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Energy futures advance on news of refinery problems, delays U.S., foreign refinery problems and low gasoline stocks push gasoline futures up; June natural gas at $4.5 per 1,000 cubic feet by The Associated Press
Crude and refined products futures advanced sharply at the New York Mercantile Exchange, led by a surge in gasoline buying on news, reports and just plain talk of refinery problems.
After a weak start, the petroleum complex rebounded.
A series of refinery problems amid record low gasoline stocks just ahead of driving season propelled gasoline futures to a record high at $1.163 a gallon April 30.
Refinery-inspired buyers were at work again May 3 wiping out sharp losses Wednesday stemming from surprisingly large builds in stocks.
Unleaded gasoline for June delivery was up 4.10 cents to close at $1.07 a gallon “It started out a little weaker, then it got going on news that the cat cracker in Venezuela was down,” said Chris Schachte, analyst at GSC Energy. “That got things all excited.”
A 110,000-barrels-a-day catalytic cracker unit is still shut at Petroleos de Venezuela SA’s Cardon refinery after restart attempts failed, a company spokesman said May 3. The unit went out of service April 30 due to a power blackout. The cat cracker is one of the biggest gasoline producing units in Venezuela, which is a key supplier of gasoline to the U.S. No restart date was given.
There was also talk that the restart of units at Conoco Inc.’s Killingholme refinery in Humber, England, would take up to a year after an explosion and a fire April 16. A company spokesman said that the restart is still on schedule for the end of June.
However, Conoco traders were good buyers of longer-term contracts, not just the nearby June, trading sources said.
Also, this week’s restart of an 85,000-barrels-a-day cat cracker at Orion Refining’s Norco, La., refinery has been pushed back yet again, to May 10.
Crude settled at $28.45 a barrel, up 65 cents. June heating oil futures retreated in early trading, falling 1.77 cents to as low as 74.70 cents a gallon before easing. Heating oil futures finished up 2.2 cents at 76.58 cents a gallon.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, June natural gas rose 4.4 cents to $4.527 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude from the North Sea climbed 48 cents to $28.07 a barrel.
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